CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTIC AUTHORSHIP

We certify that this Undergraduate Thesis is our own work, and to the best of our

knowledge, has not previously been submitted for any course requirement except as fully

acknowledged within the text. Any contribution made to this research work and the

preparation itself has been acknowledged. In addition, we certify that all information,

sources, and literature cited are indicated in this thesis.

LORRAINE S. TARROZA
Researcher

JEAN B. DASIGAN
Researcher

SHERYL C. VALENZUELA
Researcher

APRIL JANE V. BORROMEO

Researcher

ii
 Republic of the Philippines
CATANDUANES STATE UNIVERSITY
Virac, Catanduanes

College of Education

RECOMMENDATION FOR ORAL PRESENTATION

AND EVALUATION

This undergraduate thesis titled “Traditional Practices of Albularyos in Baras,

Catanduanes Amidst the Pandemic: A Case Study” prepared and submitted by
Tarroza, Lorraine S., Dasigan, Jean B., Valenzuela, Sheryl C., and Borromeo, April
Jane V. in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course SS 322 – Research in
Social Studies II is hereby recommended for Oral Presentation and Evaluation through a
College’s Research Colloquium.

_____________ JUNNIE T. GIANAN

Date Research Adviser

CERTIFICATION ON THE RESULT OF ORAL

PRESENTATION AND EVALUATION

This is to certify that this undergraduate thesis titled “Traditional Practices of

Albularyos in Baras, Catanduanes Amidst the Pandemic: A Case Study” prepared and
submitted by Tarroza, Lorraine S., Dasigan, Jean B., Valenzuela, Sheryl C., and
Borromeo, April Jane V. in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course SS 322
– Research in Social Studies II, passed the Oral Presentation and Evaluation conducted
on May 31, 2022 through a College’s Research Colloquium.

AMY T. MORAÑA, MAEM, MAED

Subject Specialist

MARIA SHEILA R. GREGORIO, Ed. D. QUENNIE ANNE S. MOLOD, MAEM

Language Critic Statistician

iii
 Republic of the Philippines
CATANDUANES STATE UNIVERSITY
Virac, Catanduanes

College of Education

APPROVAL SHEET

On the certification that this undergraduate thesis titled “Traditional Practices of

Albularyos in Baras, Catanduanes Amidst the Pandemic: A Case Study” passed the

Oral Presentation and Evaluation is hereby approved in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the course SS 322 – Research in Social Studies II.

AMY T. MORAÑA, MAEM, MAED

Research Professor

MARIA SHEILA R. GREGORIO, Ed. D.

Department Chairperson,
Teacher Education

ERIC V. EVANGELISTA, MAED

Dean – College of Education

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researchers extend their sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to the

following individuals who helped them making this study possible:

We would like to thank our beloved research professor, Ma’am Amy T. Moraña,

for her invaluable help, skillful guidance and continual dedication during our research

journey.

Our thanks and appreciation is also given to our research adviser, Sir Junnie T.

Gianan, because of his guidance and advises, we luckily accomplished our research study.

Our eagerness to do this task was sharpened because of him. Our mind setting is setted

very well to do what is necessary in order to comply with all the standards given to us. We

thank him so much for helping us and giving the knowledge he shared.

To our dearest members of research panelists, Ma’am Quennie Anne S. Molod and

Ma’am Maria Shiela R. Gregorio, for their unending guidance and inspirational assistance

since from the day of our research proposal down to our final oral defense. Their invaluable

assistance, extended skills and expertise made our research paper better in the process

making of our research study.

To Hon. Levi T. Delos Reyes, Hon. Gabriel T. Villanueva, Hon. Jose T. Sargento

Jr., Hon. Cesar B. Valenzuela, Hon. Emerito Tariman, Leny Y. Cardel and Hon. Juan

T. Briñas, the barangay captain of Genitligan, Agban, J.M. Alberto, Benticayan,

Guinsaanan, Paniquihan and Dano Baras, Catanduanes, for allowing us to conduct the

study and for their hospitality and cooperation they shown to us for the whole data

gathering activity.

v
 To our dearest informants, we would to express our gratitude for cheerful interview

and memorable experience that they shared to us. And also, for imparting us knowledge

that truly helps our study to be possible. Thank you so much.

Special mention to Ma’am Sally C. Primo who has a good heart for lending us her

printer everytime we need to make a hard copies of our paper. Without her assistance in

this matter, the reproduction of the hard copies of our research paper is impossible. Thank

you so much.

To our family and love ones who serves as our ultimate inspiration in doing our

task even though it is very challenging. Because of them, we are enlightened to continue

this process despite of many barriers and hindrances we’ve encountered.

To our friends, classmates and co-researchers for unwavering support and

motivation that inspires us to continue the battle we are in. And also for believing us that

we can finish this research. Thank you.

The management of Buddy’s Mami House for accommodating and allowing us to

do our research works in their area even though we don’t order foods. We appreciate their

generosity and their heartfelt care for the students who are studying in their vicinity.

We are very grateful for all the persons who glorifies us when the negativity strikes

our mind. The true success of this achievement are because of their love and support that

gave us the willingness to meet everything in achieving our goal.

Above all, we would like to acknowledge and express our deepest gratitude to

Almighty God for giving us the strength, knowledge and wisdom to achieve the harmony

in our research journey.

-L.S.T., J.B.D., S.C.V., A.J.V.B.

vi
 DEDICATION

To ALMIGHTY GOD,

Family,

Friends,

and to those who believed

we can finish this research.

-L.S.T., J.B.D., S.C.V., A.J.V.B.

vii
 ABSTRACT

TARROZA, LORRAINE S., DASIGAN, JEAN B., VALENZUELA, SHERYL C. and

BORROMEO, APRIL JANE V. “Traditional Practices of Albularyos in Baras,
Catanduanes Amidst the Pandemic: A Case Study” (Unpublished Thesis,
Catanduanes State University, May, 2022)

This study focused on determining the traditional practices of albularyos in Baras,

Catanduanes amidst the pandemic. It aimed to know the different traditional practices of

albularyos how they adapted and responded to the healthcare needs of the people in the

midst of COVID-19 pandemic. The informants in this study are the albularyos in Baras,

Catanduanes that has been practicing traditional healing prior and amidst the pandemic.

This study adapted a qualitative type of research, using a Case study. Non-probability

sampling using Purposive Sampling was used to determine the informants from the

barangays. The researchers prepared researcher-made interview-guide questionnaire and

used this as the main instrument in data gathering. Data gathered from the informants, were

analyzed and interpreted to come-up with the result. The findings of the study revealed that

the majority of Albularyos in Baras are female, fall between the ages of 65-69 years old

and are married. It indicates that mostly of Albularyos in Baras are Roman Catholic and

uncommon to have an Albularyos that is a Born Again Christian or Iglesia ni Cristo because

of their culture, norms and beliefs in their religion. Majority of the Albularyos have their

own source of income aside from healing. Majority of Albularyos in Baras are at 5-15

years of practice as albularyos and most of the patients are willingly or voluntarily coming

to them to be cured. Majority of the albularyos in Baras acquired skills of healing through

self-discovery and this mean that they are formed from their own experiences, observations

and learning process which make them as a reliable and approachable healers. The

viii
Albularyos in Baras practice traditional healing exclusively for the sake of assisting

people's healthcare, particularly those who do not have the means to seek competent

medical attention. However, when the pandemic struck, they began to practice traditional

healing as an alternative source of income. The most common conditions that are usually

accommodated and experienced in the locality of Baras are headache, cough, cold, and

fractures. Religion defines what treatment procedures they can only apply, limiting the kind

of conditions they can only handle. Hilot, rather than "santigwar" or "suob," was thought

to be the most widely employed type of treatment. It is because the kind of treatment they

can utilize are limited by their culture, customs, and religious beliefs. The majority of them

discovered a means to maintain their healing expertise despite the limitations, which is

through online treatment. The researchers recommended that leaflets or any kind of

pamphlets that contains the socio-demographic profile of the Albularyos as well as their

rendered expertise can serve as a guide for people who want to be treated as well as for the

albularyos to be appreciated on the verge of modernity in medical field. The Local

Government Unit of Baras should acknowledge the possibility of formulating a small

program which caters to different orientation and trainings about acquiring basic healing

skills like “hilot”. The albularyos will impart their knowledge, serve as the speakers and

trainers since they have expertise. Through this, albularyos will not only be acknowledged

but also help the people to learn. The Local Government Unit of Baras should give an

importance and corresponding attention to the welfare of Albularyos since they considered

as part of local culture due to its significance in the community. They can implement a

program that will provide financial assistance to the albuaryos that will suffice their basic

needs. The financial assistance will really help the healers, especially those healers that are

ix
not financially stable and use their healing skills as their source of income. Since some of

the albularyos cannot treat those conditions that contradict their religious beliefs, they must

consider the skills of the other albularyos who can treat those ailments. They can refer a

fellow healer who they are certain can accommodate. They can preserve the local culture

by means of promoting the others’ native and natural ways of traditional healing practices.

The albularyos in Baras should strictly observe the implemented policy of the government,

specifically the COVID-19 health protocols, not only because they are part of the

government and Filipino citizens that must abide by the law in order but also for their

health's safety. Ensuring their safety and health is essential to ensuring the future of

traditional healing practices. Without them, traditional healing practices will be put into

decline by the precipice of modernism. Future studies about traditional healing practices

of albularyos should be conducted to gain better knowledge and understanding about the

importance of it.

x
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTIC AUTHORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

RECOMMENDATION FOR ORAL PRESENTATION

AND EVALUATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

CERTIFICATION ON THE RESULT OF ORAL

PRESENTATION AND EVALUATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

APPROVAL SHEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

DEDICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

CHAPTER

1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Scope and Delimitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Significance of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Definition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

xi
2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
AND STUDIES

Related Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Related Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Synthesis of the Related Literature and Studies

Reviewed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Gaps Bridged by the Present Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Conceptual Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Research Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Sources of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Sampling Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Instrumentation and Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Data Gathering Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Statistical Treatment of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Socio-demographic profile of the informants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Acquisition of healing prior to the pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Reasons of practicing healing by the albularyos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Conditions/ailments accommodated or cured by

albularyos during the pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Kinds of treatment used by albularyos in the

midst of pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

xii
 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

APPENDICES

A. Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

B. Letter to the Validators of Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

C. Validation Material of Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

D. Attribution Table (Interview Guide) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

E. Letter to the Barangay Captain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

F. Letter to the Informants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

G. Letter to the Guardian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

H. Research Output: Leaflets Consisting the Profiles of the Albularyos

in Baras as well as the Traditional Practices that they rendered
particularly in their expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

CURRICULUM VITAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

xiii
 LIST OF FIGURES

P
Figure
Page

1 Conceptual Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

xiv
 LIST OF TABLES

P
Table
Page

1 Socio-demographic Profile of the Informants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

2 Summary responses to traditional practices of albularyos in Baras, 56

Catanduanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xv